Masquerade | Teen Ink

Masquerade

December 3, 2009
By chrisbriones GOLD, Anaheim, California
chrisbriones GOLD, Anaheim, California
11 articles 0 photos 83 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I believe nothing can be justly and completely explained by words."


Left, right, forward, back...
All dance under the high-domed ceiling
with chandelier fixtures suspended in air
and heavy draperies cast aside.

Left, right, forward, back...
Long dresses sweep the floor
while worn-soled leather shoes tap gently
and soft guiding symphonies reverberate.

Left, right, forward, back...
Pairs of black and white mingle about.
Some linger whilst the rest dance,
save the darkest couple of all.

Left, right, forward, back...
Black fabrics cover each face save the eyes.
And still these bodies sway;
they sway to the other's steps.

Left, right, forward, back...
A tear has fallen unheard,
a moistly streamed cheek unseen,
two bare faces now exposed.

Left, right, forward, back...
All pause and fall silent;
there is silence all around
save violent whines and gags.

Every head faces the anomaly
only to turn away.
For they fear the day
when their masks must fall in suit.

The painstaking cacophony proceeds
but is soon drowned by disregard
and undoubtful negligence
which preside amongst all save two.

Left, right, forward, back...


The author's comments:
This poem is indeed very open. Interpret it as you wish.

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This article has 15 comments.


on Sep. 5 2010 at 2:12 am
chrisbriones GOLD, Anaheim, California
11 articles 0 photos 83 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I believe nothing can be justly and completely explained by words."

Written in pain and a racing mind, the poem had no purpose as i wrote. Only looking back at it was i able to see a social interpretation to it. Perhaps that was intended. More so, an influx of societal and relationship matters. I feel as if i cannot put into words exactly what i hope to say. I can't craft the words to magnanimously portray my exact thoughts. Maybe that's why i use metaphors and abstract approaches.

This poem, however, is very open to any person of any mind or history. And your's proves very sharp, my friend.


on Sep. 4 2010 at 7:20 pm
Thesilentraven PLATINUM, Mableton, Georgia
40 articles 2 photos 1632 comments

Favorite Quote:
"il piu nell' uno," (according to Emerson, an Italian expression for beauty)

"Unable are the loved to die, for love is immortality" ~Emily Dickinson

"The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain"
~Kahlil Gibran

What I took from this, also, was the indifferent nature of conformity. In a massive crowd, there will always be a few whose still faces stand out against the active 'dance.' And yet they are ignored, and the pattern goes on.

on Sep. 4 2010 at 7:15 pm
Thesilentraven PLATINUM, Mableton, Georgia
40 articles 2 photos 1632 comments

Favorite Quote:
"il piu nell' uno," (according to Emerson, an Italian expression for beauty)

"Unable are the loved to die, for love is immortality" ~Emily Dickinson

"The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain"
~Kahlil Gibran

You are such a profound and complex author, I feel like you know things that the rest of us don't. Another day and another verbal miracle, my friend.

on Aug. 25 2010 at 12:19 am
chrisbriones GOLD, Anaheim, California
11 articles 0 photos 83 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I believe nothing can be justly and completely explained by words."

Clever that you caught on to that. I was really hoping that people would realize that. Yes, one simple anomaly will not change the course of everything else; one break-up is not the prophecy of a post-apocolyptic earth; and one rule broken is not the sign of war. True, there is a chain cause-and-effect to life, however, every detail in the world is minute. Life does not slow down, and people will simply not care. Whether it be their ignorance, arrogance, or whatever, nothing will change. In my case, it was a break up.

How unique everyone perceives this poem. I thank you.


on Aug. 25 2010 at 12:14 am
chrisbriones GOLD, Anaheim, California
11 articles 0 photos 83 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I believe nothing can be justly and completely explained by words."

I wrote this not 30 minutes after i broke up with my girlfriend. It was over something she did to me. However, i got back with her a month later--renewed. I felt as if i knew her better, that i had such a profound level of understanding. The same went for her. As if we were enlightened. After we sorted everything out, we practically became one. So deep were we consumed in the other.

You caught what inspired me to write the Masquerade. Thank you very much.


on Aug. 25 2010 at 12:09 am
chrisbriones GOLD, Anaheim, California
11 articles 0 photos 83 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I believe nothing can be justly and completely explained by words."

There are several ways in which someone can approach this. You, and the two other people who just commented on it, all got each and every one of the interpretations which i intended. I'm shocked that such a thing happened. Actually, quite honestly, i had no intentions as i was writing this down. The words just transpired from my pen to the paper. But when i looked back at it, i realized these three perspectives. Societal, philosophical, and romance.

I am very very glad that you saw what you saw. In fact, you're the first person to ever mention that one. I applaud you for your vision. Thank you very much.


on Aug. 24 2010 at 10:00 pm
Marlyre PLATINUM, Kalamazoo, Michigan
21 articles 0 photos 208 comments

Favorite Quote:
"when you cry, do you waste your tears?" Madonna

it has this eerie likeness to how the world just goes on, no matter what happens... shown beautifully through the repetition

on Aug. 24 2010 at 9:56 pm
J-blotting-ink SILVER, Kalamazoo, Michigan
8 articles 6 photos 20 comments
This is really beautiful. I sort of see it as being about two people who finally see each other for who they really are. Like attaining a deeper level in a relationship.

on Aug. 24 2010 at 9:24 pm
beautifuldreamer GOLD, Hanover, Maryland
14 articles 10 photos 59 comments
I don't usually like poems written in your style but I really really like the message I got from this and it's openended-ness; it seems to me like it's a message about conformity and the way society doesn't know what to do when someone doesn't follow the unwritten rules. Good job!

on Mar. 19 2010 at 7:55 pm
chrisbriones GOLD, Anaheim, California
11 articles 0 photos 83 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I believe nothing can be justly and completely explained by words."

Yes. That's also exactly it. There are many intentions behind this, and many more unintended. What you say though, that whether it be crying in public---i sought to convey that everything will become explicit. Like in a relationship (as in the poem), the two people were finally able to see each other for who they really were. Authenticity. Whereas many people continue to remain superficial (through conformity or adaptation or whatever). Thank you very much. I love to hear different interpretations.

on Mar. 19 2010 at 6:11 pm
celloizmylife PLATINUM, Atlanta, Georgia
27 articles 0 photos 72 comments

Favorite Quote:
Around here, however, we don't look backwards for very long.
We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we're curious.....And curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.
-Walt Disney

I personally thought it was more on the fear of letting your feelings out, when people discover you're not as smiley on the inside. As they see this person cry, they're embarrassed that the person is breaking the system of their society. Yet they know that someday, their mask will be uncovered too, whether it's crying in public or something else. Isn't that what it's about?

on Feb. 1 2010 at 5:37 pm
chrisbriones GOLD, Anaheim, California
11 articles 0 photos 83 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I believe nothing can be justly and completely explained by words."

is it up yet? i couldn't find it. hit me up when it is. i'd love to provide what service i could.

on Feb. 1 2010 at 4:11 pm
xXsmileXx PLATINUM, St. Louis, Missouri
34 articles 0 photos 265 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Your dreams only become intangible when you stop reaching" ~me ;)

lol, wow reallly? I also hav a new poem up called the lies of perfection. Some consrtuctive critisism would be greatly apprieciated. Haha don't be afraid to be harsh if u would decide to read it.

on Feb. 1 2010 at 1:34 am
chrisbriones GOLD, Anaheim, California
11 articles 0 photos 83 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I believe nothing can be justly and completely explained by words."

YES YES YES!!!!!!!! you got it! you got it! thank you soooo much!!! no one has ever gotten it as exactly as you! im very serious! thank you again! i knew i could rely on you, fellow poet =]

on Jan. 31 2010 at 9:26 pm
xXsmileXx PLATINUM, St. Louis, Missouri
34 articles 0 photos 265 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Your dreams only become intangible when you stop reaching" ~me ;)

again, anonther master piece. I really like it. and since i don't know what this means to you, it was reallly easy for me to interpret it in my own way. i like that its so open to interpretation because what i got was maybe a metaphor for life? haha like how life has such a constant routine, like a dance. and just...so yeah. haha i like it very much =] thanks for lettin me know, otherwise i woulda missed out on true greatness. nice job...again =]